Position Statements

NCHV's position statements provide justification for the nation's most critical homeless veteran programs. Each paper, downloadable in PDF format, provides an overview of the program's purpose and function, explains its importance to the veteran service provider community, and recommends a congressional course of action.

The Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), has been the foundation of community-based homeless veterans assistance since 1992. With nearly 15,000 beds nationwide serving up to 30,000 men and women each year, the GPD Program is often the first and most significant step toward recovery for veterans experiencing homelessness. By helping homeless veterans obtain stable housing, health services and employment and other income supports, the GPD Program has helped hold the line against increases in veteran homelessness despite continued economic stagnation, the housing crisis, high veteran unemployment, and the complete withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq.

The effects of combat exposure typically do not manifest themselves right away. By maintaining the infrastructure of the homeless veteran response system – with the Grant and Per Diem Program at its core – and ramping up VA’s ability to prevent veteran homelessness from ever happening (see NCHV’s SSVF Program policy statement), America can ensure that returning veterans will always have the support they need in times of crisis.

The Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, is the only national, veteran-specific program available to help at-risk men and women veterans from ever becoming homeless. The program is also the most suitable resource for homeless veterans who are able to quickly transition out of homelessness into permanent housing.

SSVF grantees are nonprofit, community-based organizations that provide very low-income veterans and their families with services in the following areas: health, legal, child care, transportation, fiduciary and payee, daily living, obtaining benefits, and housing counseling. The program also allows for time-limited payments to third parties – e.g. landlords, utility companies, moving companies, and licensed child-care providers – to ensure housing stability for veteran families. SSVF funds are leveraged with local Continuums of Care and other community partners at no extra cost to the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) Program is the only federal program designed to end chronic homelessness for veterans and their families. The men and women who enroll in the program achieve independent living by way of veteran-specific HUD Section 8 housing vouchers, which are linked to comprehensive VA case management and counseling services.

Case management is an integral part of the permanent supportive housing program. The vast majority of veterans who receive HUD-VASH vouchers have serious mental illness, substance use disorder histories, physical disabilities, or co-occurring disorders. Veterans create individualized “Housing Recovery Plans” with their case managers, focusing on long-term recovery and full integration into their communities. These plans involve health care, resolving legal and financial issues, and addressing employment and income needs.

The Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) is the nation’s only employment program wholly dedicated to serving homeless veterans, most of whom have serious and multiple barriers to re-entering the workforce. Administered by U.S. Department of Labor-Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (DOL-VETS) for over two decades, HVRP presently serves about 16,000 veterans each year. These men and women find employment at an average wage of $10.48 per hour at an average cost of $3,295 per placement.

In order for HVRP grantees to receive renewed funding, they must guarantee job placement and retention services for homeless veterans. These veterans benefit from wrap-around supports, as most grantees also provide residential stability, health services and counseling. Additionally, successful programs leverage local service networks without incurring extra costs.

The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) is an independent establishment within the executive branch of the federal government. They were originally created by Congress in the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 to coordinate the federal response to homelessness and to create a national partnership between every level of government and the private sector aimed at ending homelessness. Since their creation the body has grown to include nineteen member agencies from the federal government, and have become a leader in the movement to end veteran homelessness.

The small professional staff of policy experts and analysts at USICH is directed by a Council comprised of Cabinet Secretaries and agency heads, and their work cuts across these agencies and departments. USICH is the body which brings together different agencies with different missions, but which all have potential impacts in the attempt to end homelessness; USICH is able to convene them and set policy priorities and shared objectives to actualize the plan to end homelessness. Furthermore, from their unique cross-cutting position, USICH is able to identify and prevent duplication of services that would otherwise waste effort and resources. Finally, USICH is focused on cost-effective solutions to ending homelessness which drives them to identify and support policies that best husband tax-payer money while still achieving superior results in our efforts to end homelessness among veterans and for everyone.